Cooperative Learning by Katie Goehring What is Cooperative Learning?
Cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. Each member of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for helping teammates learn, thus creating an atmosphere of achievement. Students work through the assignment until all group members successfully understand and complete it. Cooperative efforts result in participants striving for mutual benefit so that all group members:
gain from each other's efforts. (Your success benefits me and my success benefits you.)
recognize that all group members share a common fate. (We all sink or swim together here.)
know that one's performance is mutually caused by oneself and one's team members. (We can not do it without you.)
feel proud and jointly celebrate when a group member is recognized for achievement. (We all congratulate you on your accomplishment!).
Research has shown that cooperative learning techniques
promote student learning and academic achievement
increase student retention
enhance student satisfaction with their learning experience
help students develop skills in oral communication
develop students' social skills
promote student self-esteem
help to promote positive race relations
What makes Cooperative Groups work? 1. Positive Interdependence
Each group member's efforts are required and indispensable for group success
Each group member has a unique contribution to make to the joint effort because of his or her resources and/or role and task responsibilities
2. Face-to-Face Interaction
Orally explaining how to solve problems
Teaching one's knowledge to other
Checking for understanding
Discussing concepts being learned
Connecting present with past learning
3. Individual & Group Accountability
Keeping the size of the group small. The smaller the size of the group, the greater the individual accountability may be.
Giving an individual test to each student.
Randomly examining students orally by calling on one student to present his or her group's work to the teacher (in the presence of the group) or to the entire class.
Observing each group and recording the frequency with which each member-contributes to the group's work.
Assigning one student in each group the role of checker. The checker asks other group members to explain the reasoning and rationale underlying group answers.
Having students teach what they learned to someone else.
4. Interpersonal & Small-Group Skills
Social skills must be taught:
Leadership
Decision-making
Trust-building
Communication
Conflict-management skills
5. Group Processing
Group members discuss how well they are achieving their goals and maintaining effective working relationships
Describe what member actions are helpful and not helpful
Make decisions about what behaviors to continue or change
Cooperative Learning
by Katie Goehring
Cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. Each member of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for helping teammates learn, thus creating an atmosphere of achievement. Students work through the assignment until all group members successfully understand and complete it.
Cooperative efforts result in participants striving for mutual benefit so that all group members:
Research has shown that cooperative learning techniques
What makes Cooperative Groups work?
1. Positive Interdependence
2. Face-to-Face Interaction
3. Individual & Group Accountability
4. Interpersonal & Small-Group Skills
5. Group Processing
Class Activities Using Cooperative Learning
Information borrowed from: http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/intech/cooperativelearning.htm
Click to view a demonstration of this SDAIE strategy: